The Boundless Plague
by joe1288
Summary: Since time immemorial, humans have used & copied nature. Diseases and poisons are especially in this category. So where did the prototype virus come from? There must have been a source. What if this wasn't the first infection in the world? What if the virus had made itself known to humanity before? First story so review please. Disclaimer: I do not own prototype game.
1. Prologue

_Hello there, this is my first attempt at fan fiction. I have had a lot of ideas brimming in my head and it's good to have a place to put them. Hopefully they will be presented in a good story for you all. This is going to be focusing on the prototype one world as I felt that the prototype 2 was a bit over dramatic, making Alex Mercer into such a bad guy in the end made me feel kind of cheated as I built him up in prototype 1. So if this goes well, instead of a prototype 2 expansion I will probably do a few crossovers instead. Feel free to comment away. Anyway let's get started_

"Jerron" called his friend Alandre. "Jerron are you listening to me?" he shouted. "Come on man it is time to climb the cliffs today, we have been planning it for some time."I laughed and began to run to him, but at that moment, my mother, Cirea, begin to cough blood. "Alandre," I shouted, "help me get here inside my mother is coughing blood." He ran over and begins to help me as I shouted for my father …*SHAKE*

I jolted awake. The captain's voice came over the speaker, "Sorry folks, we hit a bout of turbulence there, and we are about to begin our descent as well, please return to your seats and buckle in." I had no problem as I was sleeping anyway, so it wasn't that much of a bother, but a few of the little kids didn't want to sit. I had been on a very long flight, from L.A. to Washington D.C., all in preparation of a huge embezzlement case in General Electric. I was excited to present the newest piece of evidence I had to finally catch that CFO and his gang (I liked to think of them as Ocean's 11 for dummies, but my co-workers simply rolled their eyes at that). After taking so much from the employees, finally the company could save its face and turn over a new leaf after this debacle. The plane jolted as we landed and I begin to gather my things as the plane came to a complete stop. "This is the captain of Southwest Airlines flight 297 wishing you a pleasant stay in our nation's capital. I hope you fly with us soon," blared over the speakers in the plane. I smiled and stretched my legs, never liking long flights that cooped me up so, and as I got off I turned on my cell phone expecting to see a few messages probably from work. However, as I turned on my phone I saw the urgent marker on a message left by an old friend, a contact in the CIA named Jane. She would never contact me so openly unless it was urgent. She was one of the few that knew a good amount about me, and though a government spook, she had given me every reason to trust her, so trust her I did. The message was simple from her, "CALL ME IMMEDIATELY!" Contacting me openly was one thing, but giving me orders, was not a common occurrence, and I felt a tickling in my shoulder blades.


	2. Chapter 1

As soon as I got to my rental car and made sure there were no listening bugs in it, I called Jane instantly over the secure number we usually used to talk with each other. She picked it up instantly. "Frederic, Frederic are you there?" Jane asked.

Recalling that that was the name I was going by (though most called me Fred, she always did like full names), I answered her, "Yes Jane it is me, I have made sure that everything is secure, no bugs in my car, windows tinted to make sure no one reads my lips and all the other usual procedures. What is this all about? This is quite unusual for all the time I have known you."

She rushed on breathlessly, "Frederic, this is bad, you remember the town of Hope, Idaho all those years ago?"

*flashback*

It was easy to sneak into the town, even though they were watching for the virus, they were expecting people trying to go out, never in. Though none of it mattered anyway as I was sure I could take them all on. Experimenting with such a deadly thing, these people must be stupid. Hadn't they seen George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, zombies just swarm and eat you in the end. Shaking my head, I slipped into town with none the wiser, using the uniform of a Blackwatch private. I was curious as to what these people were doing with the plague.

"Nothing good, most likely trying to make it into a weapon, one that could blow in their faces," I thought wryly. I looked at some of the civilians, coughing up blood as the plague wracked them, and my heart went out to the children the most. I resolved to put them out of their misery, screw this experiment and whatever it might yield. As it was an army town, I knew I could get enough ordinance to blow the place sky high, and with a little nudge I could even convince Blackwatch to do it quickly.

*End Flashback*

"Yeah I remember Jane," I said after a quick memory flash. "What happened, did they salvage some data? Or did they actually start up the experiments again?

I heard Jane suck her breath in and sigh loudly before she said, "Worse, Frederic they never stopped. Apparently they had a survivor, Elizabeth Greene and her unborn child, and they have been experimenting on her for years. However, that's not even the worst part. Somehow, through ancient records and a lot of digging, they found your home village John, the one you told me you grew up in. They found your home village of Ishanbar, and worse they found a slightly corrupted version of the original strand."

I was dumbfounded. That the virus could survive so long without cohesion in a host itself was a curse, but to have even a fragment beyond what they had already gathered from mummified remains was terrible. My mind was working possibilities, going impossibly fast. Blackwatch I already knew was connected to Gentek through many ways, and I had been keeping tabs on them, but with the destruction of Hope, Idaho I thought them weakened. I had severely underestimated them to my own deep regret, and now I would have to get serious.

I said to Jane, "I think it's time I arrange my own premature demise Jane, this doesn't bode well, not only for me, but also any living thing that plague gets to. Call up the regulars for my identity change, standard fee, plus a few diamonds to make sure they pull out all the stops, I need this done quickly. Also, send all information to my secure drive, encrypted of course, and delete it off your machine, if they even catch a hint of you looking into this…I can't lose my favorite super spy."

She chuckled, "Awww, the old guy has a heart after all does he? Well, it was hard getting that much, but I would suggest going to Turkey to see if they are still there. It can't be easy to smuggle that virus across international borders. Contact Jared, I am sure he will be happy to guide you again. What name do you want to go by this time for your rebirth?"

I smiled wickedly, saying, "Joe, or as I know you are going to put me down, Joseph. Looks like you can't drag me shopping everywhere as you were planning to do in my free time though, so one good thing came about this. Can we do a less painful death this time, that crunching of a car accident was rather painful in regions I would rather not need to heal, how about a gas explosion, just to cast some suspicion on the General Electric fellows. Can't waste all that hard work after all right?"


	3. Chapter 2

*BOOM*

The condo I was renting was blown to smithereens. Even though I knew that I had basically declared myself dead, it felt good to make a nice explosion out of it. I had left a good number of personal effects and even some bones (don't ask, you don't want to know) that would be too charred to get any DNA samples off of them. Not that I let the authorities, at least governmental ones, have my real DNA. I drove to Jane's place to bug her for a while, and to get my identity set. After camping a few days at Jane's place to smoothly and secretly transfer the majority of my assets over, I was able to learn the facts of the new identity I had. I was now Joseph H. Smith, a freelance traveling photographer willing to take on any gritty assignments in the name of film. Also, I had a dead rich grandmother which explained my wealth even though I was in a job where money wasn't too big of thing. Easily memorizing all the info I needed as I had done many times before, I longed for the simple days where a simple change of face would be all one needed to get through in life."Modernization can be such a pain sometimes," I said sarcastically to Jane, who was watching Bones next to me.

She laughed, "Oh yeah, I am sure, that's why you bought a first class ticket for your flight to Turkey. I am sure you will be thinking that same thing as you sit in the first class seat, wishing for the travel of your first overseas venture."

I rolled my eyes, and looked at the time. I said, "Jane it is midnight you know, shouldn't you be getting to bed?"

She stuck her tongue out saying "HMMMMM well looks like the old man here needs a nap, should I get him some tapioca pudding?"

Punching her lightly, I told her, "Yeah, maybe a cane for me to and a cushion for you when your boss punts you across the office for sleeping on the job because I kept you up."

Jane grinned devilishly, proclaiming "Now now, that isn't such a bad proposition, what ways could you keep me up? You are one of the few who can due to all the odd hours I have and the profession I am in."

It was a tempting offer, as Jane was a gorgeous tall redhead with blue eyes to die for, and it had been quite some time since I had had this sort of down time. Concentrating, I prepared myself for the pain. My blood began to boil as I leeched the virus from my own bodily fluids for sexual functions. It was one of the tricks that I was very grateful to have as I didn't want to be forcing myself to celibacy forever. In addition, I hardened myself slightly so that Jane wouldn't be able to scratch me during our fun as I recalled she was quite wild. I also reverted back to my true form, 6ft tall, a short buzz cut of black hair, dark tan skin, and dark brown eyes that looked almost black as night. Much better than that photographer I was forced to look like. From the way Jane's eyes lit up, it seemed she was in total agreement of that last thought. We then had a competition of who could rip whose clothes off the fastest, and being stronger by far I won that argument easily. The other competitions we set ourselves in, well let's just say it was very close before the foreplay ended, and we finally got what we both wanted for the night.

I woke up long before Jane, with her snuggled against me early in the morning. Hating that little to no sleep perk of mine, I decided to delve into my memories and remember those who had long been dust.

*flashback*

As we bought my mother into the house, we all knew she didn't look too good. Coughing up blood and that much of a skin discoloration couldn't be a good sign. We were simple villagers, unknowing of the dangers of diseases, and the risk of infection. Many came to us to wish our mother well, and it was there that they most likely got it. No one could know at the time, but still, a wave of sadness passed through me. A messenger passing through town offered his services to send for a physician in the nearest village he was heading to next, Baranok. We thanked him and he hurried onto his horse and sped away. We waited, and waited some more, and people began to fall sick all around. The local midwife herbs were useless here as the people began to fall ill. Even I was feeling unwell as the infection spread throughout the town. Life in the village slowed to a crawl as the people could no longer function, so sick were we becoming. Then…

*end flashback*

I stirred out of my reprieve as Jane began to get up herself with the morning light peeped through the windows. Yawning she declared, "Ugh knew I should have closed those blinds, but I had the most awful distraction," punching me playfully. "Are you all ready for your flight?" she asked.

I replied, "Ready as I will ever be. Wish you could come so the flight would go by faster, but I don't relish getting kicked off a plane again as I did once for it."

Jokingly, she teased, "Might be worth it to have one with your experience in lovemaking to play with again." Then serious she said, "Such a pity that we don't have normal lives, we could of lived together, had children and all that. But we our both wed to our duties, and you for a painfully longer time than I." She kissed my cheek.

For a moment, a wave of regret washed over me. I knew that what she said was right, we both liked to give too much to our own duties for more than a little sexy fun (not that I minded that fun in the slightest). Still, part of me would have liked to have the life she described I gave her a gentle smile saying, "Well one of the perks was meeting you my dear, and though we shall never be more than the best of friends, I hope that you one day settle down yourself for a very lucky husband. But until then-"I kissed her and said, "Might as well enjoy what we can, no?"

Chuckling, Jane replied, "True enough, and…oh shit look at the time we both have to get ready quickly now, and change back to that photographer of yours, we don't have much time left before your flight or my work." Quickly changing and making last minute packs, I saw Jane put the finishing touches on her looks in an awesome business suit. We got in her Nissan Altima with my luggage and drove to Ronald Regan National Airport. As we said our goodbyes, I couldn't shake off the bad feeling I had, and after living as long as I had, that was never a good sign.

I whispered to Jane, "I don't believe that this will end simply in Turkey, Gentek and their dogs are too persistent for that. Alert the Chroniclers Jane, have them at alert 3." Her eyes widened as she choked out, still in a whisper though, "Alert 3! Joseph if you are wrong the Eldest herself will probably want to skin you." I confirmed, "Alert 3 Jane, use my proxy authorization code if you must, but I don't like where this is going, and if it gets out of hand, even I won't be able to stop it alone." She nodded and I hugged her, then I turned my back on her and went to Turkey.


	4. Chapter 3

The flight to Turkey was a long one, but a woman with her two kids sitting in the seats across from me made it enjoyable actually. I have always had a soft spot for kids, and I helped her keep them from being the stereotypical brats that everyone assumed they would be by playing games and such. As we landed, the kids both hug me and said their goodbyes. I watched them off, then recollecting myself; I headed off to get my luggage and rental car. Driving to my own personal suite, I smelt a faint smoke in the air as I turned on the lights."It is Rick now is it not?" I asked in fluent Russian.

Rick retorted in his favorite tongue, "Your new name is Joseph I guess, took me a moment to recognize you under that disguise."

Rolling my eyes, I declared, "You know, you might be able to sneak up on me one day if you didn't have such potent cigarettes. You might even smell good perhaps if you scrubbed yourself for a decade old friend."

He grew serious, "I am sorry but I am not here in the capacity of friends. Alert level 3 is drastic don't you agree for what you may be able to easily stop. We have respected your decisions, and even though I am a youngling among the Chroniclers, it is curious to me. Jane told us your reasons, and that is why the Chronicler Elders didn't automatically retort it. But all of this based on a feeling?"

I dropped my jokes, grinding the words as I said, "Yes Rick, I have a vague idea what Gentek would want with that deadly thing, and if they mess up even a hair they would doom the world in their arrogance. Mankind is ready for no such thing yet, just as they are not ready for us. Legends of your own exploits in Russia, on how you survived poison, stabbings, gun fire and worse, have been made to questionable facts thanks to the Chroniclers. If this virus gets out, there would be no way we could cover it up if it say hit Moscow, or St. Petersburg. It will consume all in its path if not stopped, and I doubt Gentek could do it. That is why I am going to go to the sands where my village lays, and it will be there that I will pick up the trail, unless you or any other Chronicler has anything?"

Shaking his head, he retorted, "No Joseph, there is not. We have picked up no more than you, and I did not come here to berate you more as update you. After a quick deliberation, the Chroniclers decided to be safe rather than sorry and have now enacted the protocols. We are trusting you on this Joseph, but I hope that you manage to make your own words of this threat not be true."

"As do I old friend," I told him, "As do I."

*knock knock knock*

I heard the door, and my friend Jared called for me, and as I turned to get the door, I felt Rick leave as mysteriously as he came. He had always been one to do that, even in his time with the last Russian Tsars. "Hello Jared," I said, wrapping my friend in a bear hug. "How are you doing after all this time, wife still running you around?" I asked mischievously.

He shivered mockingly, saying, "Wouldn't even let me come in the house until I did all the yard work I promised. So what is up with you? You were really secretive in our last email when you said you would be coming in town and I already told my Miss to expect the worst of me being gone for a few days, heaven forbid."

I turned serious, replying, "Jared, I need you to take me home again. You have been keeping track of the sands as I know you have. What is more, I need to know if anyone has disturbed either of the sites that I have entrusted you to watch."

Grimacing, he told me, "I was afraid you would come here about that. I heard rumors of a new organization in town, it was all very hush hush. Those guys are bad news Joseph, they wouldn't even glance my way from trying to subtly dissuade them from the two villages. They were heavily armed and armored…"

I stopped him suddenly, rage in my voice as I demanded, "WAIT! What do you mean where? There is no way they could have just left so quickly with the samples they needed. Proper containment protocols that any half sane organization would need time to put in place wouldn't allow it, even if they came prepared. Smuggling such dangerous bio hazards isn't that simple especially internationally."

Jared turned to me, in a calm tone stating, "I told you these guys were different. They are ruthlessly efficient black ops Joseph. They have already left, and I don't know where. However, I did find the person who had the records they sought and would probably know where they are headed next. Their own local contact, Jassir, a greedy guy with his own bookstore. I knew he had books going way back, but Joe, you have to believe me, I had no idea any of them would hint to your own past. I thought you destroyed most of the records, excluding those you kept with your group."

Sighing, I answered, "No one is perfect my friend. And now my mistake may cost us dearly. I had no idea that they would be able to get samples from so long on charred bones. Their first sample they managed to get was bad enough and that was a minute trace in an embalmed corpse. I should have realized it would have been resilient enough to survive even a mild charring. Even inactive, combined with their own bio weapon they have managed to make, it could become extremely deadly. Where is this Jassir fellow? I am going to have to ask him a few questions."

Jared said, "I guess you want to do this the easy way…" "NO!" I warned him. "We can't have that," I replied more softly, "Disappearing without a trace would gain me everything I need from him, but it would be noticed by this organization. I am going to have to call in an old favor from the best of interrogators that I know. Boy, he isn't going to like it, the man is in the middle of an experiment if I recall correctly."

*Meanwhile in Germany*

"AHHHHHHHH let me out of here please I beg of you…" the prisoner screamed before the duck tape was shut to his mouth. His torturer was an older German gentleman in his mid 50s he looked like with silver hair and cold gray eyes as he regarded his work.

Shaking his head, he answered the phone call that had been buzzing in his pocket, "Hello there, who is this now? You interrupted me in some important research?" The older man heard a voice he had come to know recently when he joined the Chroniclers after his supposed death in 1992 greeting him, "Why hello there, you are going by William Schans I believe. Call me Joseph now. And if you aren't too busy with research I need a favor."

Hesitantly, Mr. Schans replied, "Well I am not too busy, just running a routine experiment on this latest compound I made for inducing pain, very effective, but nothing special I suppose. Who do you need me to wring answers from? Normally you would do it yourself, but this person must be too well connected to have such dealings with."

Joseph then said, "Yeah a black ops group I believe. I need you in Turkey on the double. I will capture the guy and make sure we have some place private for our…discussion with him. Also, please don't wear any of that Nazi stuff you used to wear. After your supposed "death" we don't need anyone to draw the dots that you didn't really die. In addition, I don't need you getting sidetracked by starting a fight with some lout who disagrees with you to waste time, this is deadly important William. Speed is of the essence, and bring something to help this guy forget everything we are going to drag out of him once we are done. I expect to see you in less than 24 hours." *click*

Mr. Schans heard the line going dead. He smiled as it was good to hear that his talents would be put to play with his new organization. The prisoner was doing muffled struggles, but William had little time for such small fry now and coldly executed the man. He felt no remorse as the man had been a rapist, part of the policy for acceptance into the Chroniclers had been he could only research enhanced interrogation techniques on those who truly deserved it, with guilt being verified. Disposing of the body, he began to pack all that he needed, whistling a tune from the Third Reich as he did so.


	5. Chapter 4

*Back to Turkey and Joseph*

I went to the bookstore Jared had mentioned. I was quite pleased, for such a small bookstore, it seemed to have a few ancient texts that not even the Chroniclers had. I would have to mention that to the Librarians later, so they could come down here to see if they wanted anything. However, first things first, and that was gaining a profile on this Jassir fellow. Jared had told me a bit about him to be sure, but one never knows their prey truly until they have had a chance to look upon them in their own territory. I walked into the library and I could see the fear in the man's eyes as he turned around to see who I was. He obviously feared I was from the organization he had been associating with. However, he quickly realized I wasn't and turned to business again. "Good evening," he told me, "Welcome to Jassir's Bookstore of Wonders sir, is there anything I can help you find?"

I gave him a friendly smile answering, "No no no, I am just looking around for now. If something catches my eye, I will let you know sir." I pretended to browse, looking around to see if he kept the book on my village in the open. An hour of searching revealed nothing though, and it began to get dark as I had come at sunset. If all was going to plan, Jared should be paying some local teens to do some rioting and vandalism. I didn't like using people like that, but it was necessary.

I got the beep on my mobile from Jared as he sent a quick burst with one word, "Begin." Silently pulling out a custom gas powered tranquilizer pistol, I waited until Jassir's back was turned, and shot him. Probably weighing about 300 pounds, the man fell like a brick. I put him into a sack and sped across the streets before none were wiser to the safe house Jared had in the town. I will admit I banged him up a bit on the way there though, while he wasn't heavy for me, it was an awkward burden to carry for him being so ungainly. Tying him down the standard restraints, it only took about another hour of waiting as me and Jared stared at our prisoner in silence when Mr. Schans came knocking. We immediately let him in and he begins to pull out various compounds to help in our interrogation. "Hello William," I greeted, "William this is Jared, Jared this is William, and that guy asleep over there is Jassir. Shall we wake him up gentlemen? I think he has napped long enough and answers are needed."

Mr. Schans injected a stimulant into Jassir to counteract the tranquilizer that was just wearing off. Jassir groggily opened his eyes, which were flooded with light from the bare bulb in the room shining above him. We watched as he put the pieces together of his capture. I could smell the fear on him as he realized there was no easy way of getting out of this.

Shouting he demanded, "Who are you people? What do you want with a simple book store owner like me? What the hell…" He broke off as William injected him with the first compound, one to make him more suggestible. I put on what Jane likes to call my Batman voice, but to be fair; I came up with it long before those movies. Gravelly I answered his demands, "Who we are doesn't much matter to you Jassir. What we want from you are answers. And what the hell that was that my associate here put into you is going to help me get those answers willingly or not." Jassir's foul sweat became stronger as he perspired, I truly don't think the guy showered as often as he should, and if he did, he needed to wash himself better.

Trembling, he said, "Why would you think I, a bookstore owner would know anything? All the information is in my books, and if you let me go I am sure we can work out some deal…"

"NO DEALS," I growled, "I need answers, this isn't a bargaining table you imbecile, this is an interrogation, now this can be easy. You tell us all about the activities you have had with Gentek and Blackwatch, and we let you go. Or I let my associate here get to work. He is a master at his art of breaking people. By the end of it, I will know who your first crush was and your bank account numbers. You can leave here with some or no dignity. Make your choice."

Jassir was shaken now, and hesitantly said, "It-it-it's not that simple, I tell you and they could make me disappear. That American group is worse than any intelligence agency I have heard of. They could easily make you and I disappear…" I laughed menacingly, "No go Jassir, I am much better at hiding than they are." I nodded to William who plunged another syringe into Jassir. In the coldest voice I had I whispered to him, "Let the pain wring the truth from you Jassir, the pain that you shall feel from the dark." I closed the light on him and let him scream for 15 minutes as the chemical William made burned inside of him. It was quick acting and quick to dissolve. I would let William go at him with more physical tools, but I didn't want him to have any memory recall triggers from this event.

*Mr. Sachs POV*

Watching my chemical take effect, I tallied a few notes at the patient's reaction. I was pleased to see it lasted just as long as it should of, proving my calculations for a man of his girth hadn't been off. I turned on the light again as the fire in his bones subsided saying, "It would be wise to be agreeable with my associate here. If you think this is bad, you should have heard what he wanted me to bring to our little chat. I was the one who advised something without such scarring effects. Wouldn't want to make you an eunuch out of you now would we?"

The casual tone I had of snipping off what no man wants snipped, seemed to be the final straw as his posture slumped. I devised that now he was broken and looked at Joseph meaningfully to begin his questioning while I looked for any signs of lying. While the man had been in pain, I put electrode pads on him for my lie detector that I had. However, I was around before these confounded devices and I trusted my own detailed analysis of Jassir that I had done on the way to Turkey to help me see if he told the truth.

I heard Joseph questioning, "How did you get involved with such a dangerous group in the first place?"

Jassir blubbered out between the tears, "I was *sniffle* in my store one day just doing some basic organization for my books when a man in a very nice suit comes into my establishment. I of course immediately jump on the chance to help such a well-dressed customer. He took out an old manuscript he had, with a few vague references to a village plague. Being the scholar that I am, I remembered that I had recently received a scroll about a plague in a village near this location as well. My suspicions were confirmed when he asked if I had any material that could in any way relate to this manuscript. He offered me a lump sum of $20,000 dollars for such a thing. I was immediately jubilant over such a sum and showed him the scroll I had. He smiled and handed over the money without even trying to bargain, then left. A few days later, he comes back to ask if I had any old maps of the area from the first A.D. millennia. I did, and showed them to him eagerly, especially with his promise of more money. By that time, the villagers had seen men in gasmasks and scientists on the outskirts of town. He looked at a little village or two on the map then went there with his people the next day. I was hoping that they found what they were looking for because if so, the man had promised me another $20,000 for my services. A few days later the man comes to me and says that they were partially successful, and offers $7500, giving me a number to contact for the rest of the money later. The men stayed here a few weeks longer, trying to find more of whatever it was they had uncovered, but they were unsuccessful apparently and left a week ago."

*Joseph POV*

This was BAD. I had thought that they would only have a few days to look at the virus before I would go in to take care of it, but if they had weeks with even a partial sample…I turned to Mr. Schans who shook his head when I gave him the questioning look to see if the man was lying. I certainly felt no inclination that he had been as you could tell the wretch just wanted out.

I asked him, "Do you still have this number?"

Jassir replied, "Oh yes sir I do, it is still on my mobile phone though the man told me not to contact him again once I got my money, which he paid me already. The number is 646-841-0974. After all the long distance of course."

I looked at this man, who I wanted to kill for his folly, but he had no idea of knowing the danger he had put the world in. I whispered to Mr. Schans, "Inject him with the serum, I don't want any memories from this at all. Jared already left, being too squeamish to bear the prolonged screaming, and being the professional he is, has already set it up like he has been knocked on the head and the cash register broken into." Mr. Schans nodded, injected Jassir, who fell asleep as his brain was being deleted of the past 10 to 20 hours. Some brain problems were probable for such an unhealthy man, but there was no getting around it. I rapped him on the head slightly to finish the décor to our deception and hefted him back to his place where I strewed him upon the floor.

As I got back to my hotel, I thanked Mr. Schans who left for Germany again, and Jared who went home to his wife. Long goodbyes were a luxury I could no longer afford. Looking up the area code of the number I had found it to be in New York City. My next destination was clear.


	6. Chapter 5

_Okay hello there people, sorry for the delay. Lots of tests and homework lately. Anyway, let's get back to it. Since this virus is different from the typical virus Alex has had, his powers can be different. Also, with the long time Jerran has had to mutate himself, any ideas on possible powers (please nothing like overpowered God like abilities please) would be appreciated. _

_By the time the flight arrives, Alex Mercer has just released the virus in Penn Station. _

In the morning I was packed up and ready to go for my hastily booked flight to New York City. As I began to drive down there, I thought of the terrible consequences that could befall everyone if the infection took over New York City. Sighing to myself, I had no choice but to call the Eldest among the Chroniclers who I know wouldn't be happy about what I had to tell her.

I called her number and heard an ageless voice answer me, "Well well, if it isn't my little troublemaker? I was beginning to wonder if you would call?"

I sighed, and begin to tell her, "Why hello there Agatha, doing well I hope? If you thought I have been trouble the last few days, well you are not going to like me now. I need you to evacuate all Chroniclers and their associates from New York City."

The silence I heard was like a smothering pillow over me. I could feel her collect herself, then she began to berate me, "JOSEPH! First you put us at alert level 3, and now you want us to evacuate New York city, which I may remind you, has quite a few of us there. You fucking idiot, you can't just go to demand this stuff based on pure hunch, and let me remind you shithead of…"

I stopped her, coldly saying, "Agatha, they have my virus for certain, somehow gaining it from the blackened bones of the dead. It was bad enough in Hope, Idaho after they modified a small amount of the virus that was on the warlord who tasked himself with quarantine back then. Now, with a person directly infected, things can get a lot worse Gentek and Blackwatch have some of their biggest laboratories in New York City, specifically Manhattan Island. They have had their sample for weeks now I am afraid, and even partially, it will allow them to make this infection much more deadly. That which I faced in Hope, Idaho would look pale compared to what will happen now. I don't know what mutations could happen if even a few of the Chroniclers were taken by that, but I know it wouldn't be good. I am heading to New York now, in order to find it and destroy it. You need to enact the override protocol immediately and put us at alert level 1 in the western hemisphere, or at the very least the U.S."

She sighed, replying, "Well then, you are right this time. We do have a problem. If it does get out of control, this virus could undo the many millennias of humanity I have witnessed. I will make all the arrangements necessary, and I will call all our contacts who have even a scrap of information on Gentek."

I nodded saying, "Thank you very much ma'am. Anything else?"

Her voice turned cold as arctic snow as she said, "In addition, you are released from the Chronicler protocol. Destroy who you must, and use whatever means necessary to eradicate this threat. Consume all in your path. If this virus overwhelms you though, and makes you one of them, I will not hesitate to destroy you utterly." She softened her tone as she added, "However, I would like to avoid such a thing, you have been a good friend, and a good chronicler for centuries now. I would be loathe to cut thou down with Liberan. God speed you Jerran."

I smiled, pleased to hear my true name for once, and said, "Thank you. May God help us all, Arina."

The plane ride was too long, especially without the children to play with as usual. As I landed in New York, I got a confirmation text from Agatha saying everyone had cleared out of New York City. I smiled, hoping that she didn't wound anyone too much with her lectures that seemed to sting like a whip once she got in gear. However, I felt uneasy as I got out of the airport. I took up residence in a Hilton hotel, put my stuff down, and opened my laptop doing a general search on Gentek. Finding the address of their public facilities I also looked for any mysterious shutdowns. To my dread, I found one, in Penn station. "Great," I muttered, "If the virus has been unleashed then this is a problem."

*flashback*

Weakly, I saw smoke on the horizon. Though I was too sick to realize it then, Baranok was burning. Many, including my mother, had just died from the disease. We were keeping all away for fear of the disease. However, the worst was yet to come. My father saw my mother moving slightly under her shroud, and called to me, "Jerron, Jerron, come quick, your mother is alive, she is…." *CRUNCH*

*Father's Bloodcurdling yell*

I moved as quickly as I could and saw my mother in a frenzy attacking my father. I got the wooden staff my father loved so much and shoved my mother against it, but her strength was enormous and she threw me off. In an act of desperation, I threw my favorite dagger the village blacksmith gave me, hoping to hit her shoulder, but my aim was off and it snapped right into her school and she died. My father had lost so much blood due to the throat wound she had given him and I knew there was no hope for him. My mother's eyes were clouded and as I sat down trying to gain my bearings, I heard similar calls happen. The dead rising to me was one of sheer horror, so I ran out of the house, trying to get away. I was tackled by my friend Alandre, now turned to one of…them. He slashed my throat with his nails and beat me to a pulp. However, he then saw another person not yet turned apparently and ran after them, leaving me there to die. As my eyes glazed over…

*end flashback*

I shook myself from my reprieve. Now was not the time to go into memories. It was time to work. I decided to head on the rooftops to search for someone who could get me into Penn station. Running on the rooftops was a great way to go in New York in my opinion. Avoiding all that traffic saved me so much time, even with hiding from helicopters and other surveillance. Soon I was near Penn station, and saw them carting out what seemed to be bodies. My skin began itching as I felt my own infection stir. It was then I knew, that the virus had gotten out. Focusing back on the task at hand, I saw one of the coroner's alone for a moment. I jumped into the alley behind him and taking advantage of nobody near us for the moment or even looking our way, I stealthily consumed him. His memories entered mine, and he revealed to me that some fellow named Alex Mercer had been killed in Penn Station. I was tempted to leave, but doing so right now would have broken my cover easily, so I decided to play along as we got the bodies out of there. As I approached the area of the station where apparently Mercer had been killed, the itch in my bones became quite strong. I could feel the virus itself, so similar to my own, yet fundamentally altered. However, I didn't have time to investigate this feeling as the Blackwatch troopers were hurrying us along as they were trying to contain the outbreak. "Foolish soldiers," I thought, "even with all those you have quarantined, it's a freaking train station. There is no way you could have caught everyone. The infection will spread and I will have to take out your mistake." I silently hummed to myself a tune forgotten long ago from the mists of time, a tune my mother used to hum me to sleep with.

*Later that night*

I headed out of the coroner's office. Luckily the fellow I consumed lived alone so no one would be missing him for some time, not until I didn't show up for work. Finding a secluded place I transformed back to myself and ran into the night. I had learned some interesting things about the virus. There were two versions now, Redlight, the one I faced in Hope, Idaho, and now a new one had been made, known as Blacklight. I chuckled to myself, as now there were three strains of the virus, two little children of mine, born from blood and fire. I saw a military chopper then fly and try to what it seemed to me, chase something. However, a car was thrown and destroyed it. I was stunned. No chroniclers could be left in New York to do such a thing, and I had found no evidence of Greene, so that left someone like me, who could bond with the virus. I ran back quickly, but by the time I got there, only destruction remained. I needed more information, and the easiest way to get that was to consume more. I headed back to the hotel to plan out my next move, wondering who the new addition was.

*Mercer has now saved his sister and is trying to go to his apartment*

The next day, I was up with the dawn. I had to find someone new to consume though, as the coroner's were pretty low level. Sifting through the memories of the man, I found a minor research assistant he was friends with. It wasn't much, but it was a start in the right direction. Even better, today was my day to carpool with him to Gentek. I smiled and ran to his house. Transforming to the coroner I greeted him, "Hey Mike. Fine day isn't it?"

Mike nodded and replied, "Yeah another glorious day of work. Well let me grab my wallet and phone, I left them on the dresser."

It was perfect for me, and I asked, "Sure that sounds fine. Mind if I use the bathroom?"

Offhandedly, already turning his back to me to get his stuff, he stated, "Yeah of course, you know where it is already." In my own opinion it never hurts to be civil to a person, especially when they are about to die. Shutting the door behind me, I silently snuck up behind Mike and consumed him. I did a slow consumption, as I was trying for detailed memories, and I didn't have time to sift through his life later. It was quite painful for him, but there was no help for that, I needed information. I found out he had been helping to do baseline genetic comparisons between my virus and the new Blacklight one, without even realizing it.

"Poor sap," I muttered as I took his badge and everything else I needed. Entering Gentek wasn't hard, and I made my way to the assigned station. I knew I couldn't consume anyone with so much security watching, so I tried to glean all the information I could from the head of the research in my department, Glenn Stein. A close mouthed fellow, he didn't offer me too much.

However, I did learn a little from him. My hearing is quite exceptional so I was able to glean him muttering as he whispered, "Shit shit shit…we need to hurry…time is of the essence…infection already spreading…research assistant so damn lazy…" I kept working, but at the same time, it was hard to concentrate. I felt a buzzing in my mind that I just couldn't get out. It was quite an annoying and curious reaction, but I sifted it over to just some noise of a machine somewhere. Shaking it off, I decided that today was fruitless, and made it so I could come back later at night. With many centuries come many skills, and friends who can teach those skills. I was able to write a little program that would accept the pass from Mike, the guy who I consumed, even after hours. I made my little patch, and left for the day. However, the night was when things got interesting to say the least.


	7. Chapter 6

The military was quite active tonight. Both Marines and Blackwatch were looking for someone along with the infected. So far they had called him "Zeus" which was an interesting codename. I chuckled to myself as I wondered that if others came around and all got greek God names, would that make me Cronus, for wanting to destroy my children? Cronus didn't have a nice ring to it so I discarded it and focused back on the mission at hand.

There was a tension to the air and I saw one Blackwatch trooper go off to investigate something alone. I quickly took this chance to consume him stealthily. Quickly taking in his memories, I came back out and reported to my men, "Never mind, nothing of note there, keep searching though." While only an NCO in military terms, he still had some good information. Apparently there was an outbreak of some sort in the Gentek building. It was very hush hush, but it was still causing worry apparently. I still had my program in the system to let me back in, so I told my men I had to make a report and went back to the area inside the Gentek secure complex. Making my way over there and still shifting through memories, I discovered it would most likely not work anymore as the building had been sealed with level 4 protocols. "Rats," I muttered, seeing that plan gone.

As I entered, I saw these new sensors light up. I was worried as I might not be exactly like the virus Gentek had made, but if they could detect me I was in trouble. However, I realized it would take them some time to discover as these sensors took time to narrow down their targets. So I began to move with a purpose. I then saw a curious sight of the commander heading to the door, so making my way to him I saw him enter it and just caught the door as he ran in. As I got close to him I sensed it, he was infected on a massive level. However, he had already started running and by the time I made sure no one saw me go in, he had already started running, fast. "Shit," I said, and began to take chase, all the way to floor 51.

The buzzing in my head grew louder and the pieces began to fall together. This was the same buzzing I had had in Hope, Idaho. That buzzing was like a queen bee ordering me to obey, and only one person I knew of was capable of trying to compel infected beings just by her mere existence. Elizabeth Green. Shee had to go somewhere, and this being one of the largest of the Gentek labs, where else would be a better place? They must have had her here for decades. When we got to the floor I could see the infection had advanced far beyond my fears. It was not only consuming the living and dead, but it was seeping into the building materials itself. I saw the commander who transformed back to his original form, Alex Mercer, the one who I had written off as dead. "Lucky son of a-" I began to say, but stopped dead cold when I saw who he had just released. There she was, Elizabeth Greene herself. I laughed, making them both turn to me as I said, "Well well well, isn't this a happy family reunion? So glad two children of mine could come together. Now Greene I know what you are doing here, but Mercer, why the HELL did you free her?"

In a creepy voice Greene replied, "What do you speak of, I am your mother, the mother of all who are infected."

I let out a booming laugh, chuckling as I stated the fact, "No my dear, I am from a time much older than you are, but I wasn't talking to you now was I? Mercer, why did you free her?"

Mercer's look was confused as he looked at me saying, "She was being experimented on, and I needed answers." Greene then backhanded him, sending him flying. Then my suspicions came true as she caused the virus to retreat from the wall, shattering it as she did so. "By God, you can control the virus, you have been trying to control me since you sensed me in the building. And while you couldn't control me, you could at least hide yourself from me, while you waited to see what factor I would play," I accused her. She smiled at me, and though pretty, I wasn't that much of a fool to let her get away. It was then that I saw the pods burst open as these…beasts came out of them. I recognized them from Hope, Idaho, but these ones were bigger and meaner. One knocked both Alex and I out the wall, and we fell to the pavement. As I fell though, I didn't want to be recognized so I went into a combat form, donning a flexible combat armor. My hair grew as I added tendrils of biomass to it. My eyes pooled black, and I formed a mask, reminiscent of the one Optimus Prime had, but as I had mine first, I considered him the copycat. I looked at Mercer, wondering if he even knew what he had done. Thinking time, was a little afforded luxury as we hit the pavement, with military and infected forces surrounding us. I smiled, as I had not had a fight where I could kill in so long. However, I knew that I couldn't just take all these forces at once, and those hunters were coming straight for us alone.

I shouted to Mercer, "Follow me if you still want to make it through the night punk." He hesitated for a moment, consumed a soldier, and began to follow me as we ran. In my preparation I knew of a base close to here with fuel tanks. I could of killed them true, but this was a perfect opportunity to limit Blackwatch power. And I realized my instincts had been right as I saw a whole bunch of hunters gunning for us. Now that Blackwatch knew about both of us, it wouldn't be long before they set up a hunt, but containing the infection would most likely take precedence over such capturing us. We crashed through the skylights and the fun began.

*Alex Mercer POV*

This was all getting too strange. First Greene didn't seem to need rescuing at all, was apparently some weird ass mother, now this guy who is apparently our father or something comes here to try and stop us, but we all get freaking ambushed by these weird animal things. What a day this was.

I heard a laugh as the other engaged a hunter, yelling, "Mercer, make them hit the fuel tanks, lets blow this thing sky high. With all those hunters Greene had time to make we need to take care of them quick." It was mass chaos, and while he kept the hunters off of me since to them he was the bigger threat I took out the fuel tanks on by one. The other guy stunned one, and tossed it my way. I just consumed it out of instinct, but it was worth it as I felt claws brimming from my hands afterwards. I smiled, as I now had a way to kill these hunters a lot more easily. I began to help him mop them up and saw him consume a hunter the same way I did. It was really weird to see it from another's perspective. I then noticed him gain claws as well, but different from mine. I had knives for hands basically, but this guy, his claws were more akin to an animal's. They still had blades beneath them for cutting power, but you could tell he was meant for a hard, fast strike with the points. As we got swarmed either side by hunters, the last fuel tank was there and I found a rocket, and I shot it. The explosion was quite nice, as was all the burned hunters. We both ran out of there and into the night.

*Joseph POV*

Well Mercer wasn't too bad in a fight, though far from being as good as I was. However, the infected beasts he had consumed had allowed for an interesting mutation. Wondering what other powers I might be able to grasp in this chaos that was now ground zero, I turned to Mercer as we were on an abandoned rooftop.

Enjoying the night sky as we ran, I called to him, "So you are Alex Mercer, codenamed ZEUS correct?"

He replied huskily, "Yeah I am, now who the hell are you? You just pop out of nowhere and take charge. And there is no way in hell you or Greene are my freaking parents."

I smiled, chillingly saying, "Now that is where you are wrong Mercer. You have the Blacklight virus, a potent modification of my own. Greene has the Redlight virus, another modification of my own, but with more of a human touch. Due to the Blacklight virus being released though, she will adapt to Blacklight as it is to her an upgrade. Also, I take charge because to me, you are a mere cub, untrained in the uses of the power you now wield. Greene has some control, but she has had decades. I have had centuries."

Cracking my neck I told him, "If you don't believe me, why don't we settle who is the stronger right now? Let me show you what the original strain, Dark Genesis, is capable of Mercer." Mercer tensed and then I ran at him. He tried to punch me, but I dodged easily. Grabbing his arm, I pulled at it, forcing him forward, and punching him with my other free arm. I then kneed him and tossed him aside. Mercer got up and formed his claws. While a claw on claw battle sounded interesting, I wanted to use something else. From the point where my arm meets with my hand, a blade slightly wider than my own hands came out, sliding along the back of my palms. Almost touching the ground, I had complete control over them, and I could extend and retract them as I wished. Mercer rushed me, this time going on the offensive. I parried, admiring his aggressive fighting style. It was clear though that he was going to have to rely on his own improvisation that he got in the field along with the memories of those he consumed to add to his own combat. As he had already absorbed a few Blackwatch soldiers, he was incorporating some of their fighting moves unconsciously it seemed to me.

Getting a little serious, I stabbed and tossed him, then I jumped up, preparing to stab him through the arms. Surprisingly he formed a shield stopping my blow. I laughed, "Impressive Alex, instinctively calling for a shape you need. On the other hand though, you don't know too much about physical weaponry I guess Alex. Otherwise you would know, shields like that can be worked around." I formed a spiked whip from my blade, latching onto the shield that instinctively came up. Pulling it aside, I focused biomass to my right arm to pummel Mercer a bit, then I put my blade up against his neck. "I believe we are done here, unless you need further demonstration that I could kill you anytime I want," I told him.

Mercer got back up shakily, but steadied himself as he healed from our little bout. Grimly he answered back, "No, I think we are good. As you are not on Greene's side or on Blackwatch's side, I think we have an alliance for now." I offered him my hand and we shook.

"Now that that is over with, why don't you take me to your base of operations. I highly doubt you would just hole up anywhere," I laughed. The guy didn't even crack a smile. His humor would need to be worked on, being long lived was already grim enough at times. We set off at a run into the night, heading to Mercer's safe house.


	8. Chapter 7

_***Gah sorry for the delay everyone. Family issues and midterms really took a number from my free time and a new job to boot. Anyway I am back to it now and hopefully you all will enjoy this latest chapter. However, as no one has reviewed me yet, I ask you all again to leave a short tidbit on improvements I could make or if I am just doing a good job. In addition, in order to make Jerron a little bit more unique, I am wondering if you all could leave some ideas for some abilities he could've gained over the centuries. Please no uber powers like gravity control or molecular manipulation. Thank you all in advance.***_

Running along rooftops in the night never gets old really. Due to the chaos happening in the city, we focused on speed rather than stealth as Blackwatch was a bit preoccupied with infected mutants trying to kill them.

Mercer led me to a small room on the rooftop, commenting, "Home sweet home for now." We walked inside and I was surprised to find a girl.

Racking my brain on Mercer I had collected beforehand, I did a quick bow and introduced myself, "Hello there madam, I believe you are Mercer's sister yes? My name is Joseph." I offered my hand to her.

Not one to be taken on mere manners, suspiciously she replied, "Yes I am Dana Mercer, and though I know your name, who the hell are you and what is your connection to all of this?"

I showed my teeth in a feral grin answering, "Like I said I am Joseph, and as for who I am, well that is a story that could take years to tell. Suffice to say that I am here to stop this virus. You don't seem as if you have many allies, and if things get as bad as I think they can, a bigger group has a better chance. I wish you no harm, unless you mean to let the infection world domination and end of humanity. You know, the usual."

She rolled her eyes saying, "Great, a comedian. Were you infected by this virus as well or do you just hate Gentek?" I said, "Why, a bit of both really Ms. Mercer. You see, as I told Alex here, if Greene would be his mother, then I would be his father. I had the virus first and I don't like sharing, especially with millions of people liable to turn into monsters. So how about we get to stopping this thing. Now I have a few leads at Gentek I still might be able to check up on, if my disguise hasn't been broken through yet. What about you Alex?"

It was Dana that spoke up for him, "Here Alex. Does the name Karen Parker ring any bells? Well it should. She was close to you, an ex-girlfriend. I have her address from the laptop. Get to her before the military makes her disappear. If I can find this lead, you can bet that they will to. And Alex, be careful."

Cracking my neck a little, I stated, "Well looks like it is our move this turn. Let's go have some fun." Alex glared at me declaring angrily, "Do you think this is some game? Have you seen all the dead and the dying?"

I walked past him and at the door, imparted my last words, "Alex when you have lived as long as I have, if you don't take the time to grin a little when things go bad, well there won't be much left of you after a while." I shut the door behind me.

While Alex was looking for his girlfriend, I went back to Gentek. Assuming my disguise, I tried to go in the main entrance, but those damn alarms kept making Blackwatch troops jittery and inspecting everyone. However, the more I thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. Those alarms were keyed into the Blackwatch and Redlight virus most likely. Sure, with them having a partial collection of the original strain, it was possible that they could detect me, but still there should have been some confusion in the systems as to what I was. Taking on a classic Blackwatch disguise, I slowly bore down on each alarm, hacking it to exclude me. The actual deed was a lot harder though, as my usual tricks weren't up to par, forcing me to extensively delve into the memories of a few programmers I had consumed in order to get past it. Doing the same with the other alarms, I had to hurry as they reset themselves every few hours in order to resist hacking attempts. I went to the bathroom where there weren't any cameras, and decided to wait in the stall. The head researcher of Mike's department had a bladder condition luckily, and normally had to go to the bathroom on his way in. He came in after five minutes and I consumed him stealthily.

Not the most elegant consumption, but the memories I needed came rushing in. Assuming his form I went to his office, examining the DNA strands he had to work with. Certain key bonding sites on the genetic code were marked. As my virus, Dark Genesis, was mutating unpredictably and constantly at a random rate, some strands look fragmented. Of course it could also have been just the effect of having only a partial strand. Key segments were marked though, indicating possible attack sites for a pathogen. That made me worried as it should have taken years of research to indicate even one attack site. If it applied to me it most likely applied to the others as well. "Crap," I whispered, "This isn't good. I don't care how smart these guys are, there is no way they would be able to do so well without help." I left the building discreetly before the alarms reset, and once I was far enough away, I ran to the hotel ASAP.

Changing back to normal I made a secure call to the Eldest. She questioned me, "Status report?"

I stated, along with a general summary of events, "So far things have been chaotic as expected. I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but I have both Greene and another infected being to contend with as well. Alex Mercer, a scientist, was infected on a massive level and became like me. In addition, I was in Gentek, and I saw what might be a way to destroy the virus. However, the information they had on the original strain, even a partial one, was much too detailed."

The Eldest coldly articulated to me, "Well well the Chroniclers will need to hear this about a new member we might get. Kill him if he turns against you of course. In addition, you suspect a Chronicler for helping them?"

Nodding, I replied, "Yes, I know Chroniclers have the freedom to do what they want, but when I joined, it was agreed that the virus could only be studied by the Chroniclers, the research being shared with no one. I would never suspect you elder, but there are others among the Elders who are not so innocent I believe."

Silence for a second, then she answered, "I will look into it on our end then. A word of warning though. Be careful with this Greene child. From her obvious control over the infected, she seems to be almost a queen for the infected. If she decides to make Alex her "King," kill them both. If she makes you "King" and you give in to it, I swear I will make you suffer for decades for falling for a genocidal bitch like that."

Gulping I said mockingly, "Awww there goes my master plan for world domination, and here I was going to make you my mistress."

Sighing loudly, she stated, "Goodbye Joseph, I expect your next update soon."

As the phone clicked off, I decided to investigate this viral attacker that Gentek seemed to be making. One for Blacklight and Redlight, one that they had mostly built themselves, I could understand that. But their ability to attack my cells DNA in the way they were describing was scary. I had lived so long with the virus that had shaped me, I wouldn't know what to do if I was cured. I didn't even know if I could survive a cure, so intertwined are Dark Genesis and I.

I ran, trying to find more scientists who would know what I needed. With my sharp eyesight I was able to tell a group of Gentek scientists, obviously heading out to lunch. Grinning, I prepared to have my lunch as well, being their biomass and memories. Changing into my combat form, I discarded stealth to consume the scientists while the civilians went running. A few soldiers tried to shoot me, but they were easy meat to take down. Hiding from military choppers and patrols sent to find me, I transformed to a random civilian disguise I had, and mulled over the memories I had acquired. From one of the higher ranked ones, it seems my suspicions were correct. They were trying to make a pathogen to destroy the virus. However, it appeared they needed a highly concentrated source, which meant Mercer unfortunately. He was who the pathogen was made for. However, including these other attack sites that should have made no sense even with Redlight involved, they were perfect for me. I tried to shift through the memories to see who could have the knowledge to do something like this, but I saw no one who came to mind. Sighing, I decided to go to a secondary Gentek lab to try and see this pathogen for myself.

*Meanwhile in a Gentek Lab*

"Dr. Crowls do you really think this thing will work," said the young assistant Daniel.

Juggling complex chemical processes, the Dr. answered, "Yes yes yes of course it will. I included these sequences as a precautionary measure, as there is no telling how the mutations have progressed. Evolution is fickle, and the rate this virus involves make it the challenge of a century to pin down. But it is late now Daniel, so why don't you head home." Daniel left, and after a few minutes, so did the doctor. As he walked home whistling he saw a few infected that tried to attack him. The doctor's face contorted into glee as lightning encircled his body to shoot out at the infected. "Ah good, I could always use more specimens. Now that the Chroniclers have ordered out of New York, hopefully I can capture that lovely carrier of Dark Genesis and finally get my wish to dissect him." Cackling widly, he gathered up the bodies in the dead of the night and took them away.


	9. Chapter 8

***In this there is heavy cursing, so to keep it T, its in other languages so unless you are a super lingual person you won't understand half of them. And if you look them up in google, well that is your fault and I take no responsibility for it **** Enjoy.***

Sneaking into the Gentek lab wasn't too hard with my abilities. With the advent of modern technology, it was hard to sneak in as I had when I was a thief in the old days. Just had to find the right person to consume. The head researcher I had was still valid. I claimed I was sick with a migraine, and the boss, while disappointed, lapped it right up. So I then began to investigate who would have such an innate knowledge of the virus. I sifted through personnel files as secretly as I could. After an hour of pretending to do work I still had nothing though. Walking down to the development floor of a new toxin called Bloodtox, I could feel my virus writhe inside of me as it was attacked by microscopic amounts. From what I could see, it was totally harmless to normal humans.

"Interesting selectivity," I thought, "to not only target the virus, but stop it from a cellular attack on the infected normal DNA." It was then that I saw him.

*flashback*

Coming before the elders of the Chroniclers was a nervous experience. Here were people in the world who were not only older than I was, sometimes by a lot, but also who could potentially defeat me in battle. The knowledge thrilled me in a way. I had already been part of their organization for a little bit when another new guy demanded my virus. His name was Dr. Victor Franks. A talented doctor to be sure, but overzealous in his zeal to get my tissue sample. He went to try and cut me with a knife while I was sleeping to get it, and only a lucky dodge kept him from ending up with his head caved in. When I later decided to have the Chroniclers study the virus passively, I elected to keep him away from it, knowing his zeal would lead only to disaster. Without the virus to occupy him though he later went on to become known in history as…

*end flashback*

Shaking myself out of my reprieve, I muttered to myself, "Dr. Frankenstein." Of course he would have been able to study my virus in secret and understand a good portion of it. The pieces were beginning to fall together as I now knew how Gentek was able to secretly gain extra knowledge on it. However, I also knew he wasn't going to be easy to take down. Dr. Frankenstein was a genius and what is more, his abilities over electricity were formidable. He was even able to attract lightning to help to give his own monster a semblance of life, inspiring the very story that has had such an impact on Halloween. I also decided to get out of there quickly. Frankenstein only needed a few minutes to detect my irregular bio electric signature as I remembered it. Leaving a quick little message to make it seem I wasn't lollygagging, I headed off back to the labs, and out of the building to Dana Mercer. Entering in quietly I called out, "Dana."

Coming out of the bedroom, she replied groggily, "Yeah, what do you need?"

Laughing I told her, "Good morning sunshine, and I need a few things from you. First I need a way to contact you so I don't need to run out here all the time, and I also need you to find some things on any head researchers in Gentek."

She nodded, looking me dead in the eyes, and asked, "Sure, you will get that, but I am curious about you. You didn't give a lot of information on yourself."

"I normally don't offer such information. I will tell you this though, I was born on the A.D. side of the timeline, if that helps you," I said sarcastically grinning. "Also I will tell you this, if all goes well and you and/or Alex survive this, you will get my recommendation to join us."

Questioningly raising her eyebrow, she asked, "Who is this us? And why would we want to join?"

"Really my dear, did you think that Alex and I were the only ones? The only ones with power in this world that is unnatural? There is quite the secret society that I am a part of, not that you will ever find it without me. You are good Dana, but not that good. We also have millenias of practice when it comes to hiding from the world." I told her mockingly. "And with my organization you could actually live a life, knowing that you are helping others stay hidden while they in turn keep you hidden. There is always room for a helping hand among us chroniclers as we do have normal human contacts that know of us. Or we have their descendants help us if they so choose. So far we remain away from the public eye so it has worked."

Her thoughts churning inside her evident on her face as she digested this, Dana hesitantly answered, "I will think about it. But for now one problem at a time, no? There is a lot of work to do before we clean up New York, and those Blackwatch guys aren't going to fix it, that's for sure."

Smiling at her, I flirted, "Right you are beautiful. Now I am off dear, and I will be bringing my stuff here so I don't have to run between this place and my hotel room. See you in a bit, don't forget dinner now honey." I dodged the water bottle she chucked at me as I ran through the door and jumped into the sky.

Making my way back to the hotel opened my eyes to the state of the city. I could clearly see now hives of the infected popping up across the city. The infection was gaining strength, and with a driven leader now, things were certainly going to get worse before they got better. My hotel was getting a bit too close to redzone for comfort, and Blackwatch had ordered the hotel evacuated. Quickly changing to my photographer I ran into get my stuff and hurried out as Blackwatch went through. Sighing with relief at my close call from Blackwatch getting my stuff, I hurried away to a rooftop, and made another call to the Eldest.

She picked up quickly, "Hello Joseph, enjoying the sights?"

Cracking my knuckles, I sarcastically replied, "Oh it is a down right wonder. Got all manners of twisted bodies, hives, and hunters to look at here. It sure is pretty here."

Laughing, she sobered up saying, "All right back down to business. I have confirmed the majority of the chroniclers, but there are always are a few who are AWOL."

Shaking my head, I told her, "No need ma'am. I already know who it is. Dr. Frankenstein it seems wasn't sated with all the other times we have helped him. He just had to go and join Gentek as a researcher. Not only is he smart, but from what I gather, he has been studying my virus in secret. Probably joined up with them because he couldn't get all the devices he wanted on his own."

As I finished I could feel a terrible pressure on the other end of the line. I heard a quick snap and the line went dead. I quickly got another call though as the Eldest contacted me from another phone. Her tone was deadly saying, "That blithering IDIOT! We have covered for him before when his experiments desecrated the very dead themselves, but now he wants to help bring about the end of the FUCKING world! I have told the other elders that it was a mistake to keep him in, that we should have given him counseling or something, but noooooo they said it was his craziness that caused him to be a genius and why should we interfere with that? I have had it up to here with that son of a whore mongering bitch. Nugator ac nebulo! Sterculinum publicum! Nugae! Gerrae! Fabulae! ابن الحمار. مالوش زب. Chupe mantequilla de mi culo. Gladna Karpatska valchitza s dalag kosam minet da ti prai deeba. Cao ni zu zong shi ba dai. Afatottari. Naridill. Sut djavlepik i helvede din bossedvarg…"

This went on for a few minutes. The Eldest in normally a very calm person, but even she needs to let off some steam. Doing it with her powers might destroy a town or two, so she has filed her tongue razor sharp instead. Calming down, she resumed her icy voice, coldly proclaiming, "However, I want you to do nothing yet. I will make certain of it on our end. And then I will rope our little elder council to give you the permit necessary to hunt him down. If he attacks you though, my order still stands. Consume all in your path, even if it is another chronicler. I will make it clear that it is my order. Be careful though, as Dr. Frankenstein, though crazy, still is quite formidable in his use of power."

I nodded, replying, "Crystal clear ma'am. In the meantime things are bound to get hairy here. So I am off to take my stuff to Dana Mercer's safe house."

Chuckling evilly, I heard, "Take a care now Joseph. Don't be sleeping while you are on the job. Dana is a cute little thing, but from what I hear, she has a brother who might take it the wrong way if you two were to relieve some stress."

Rolling my eyes to her, I simply said "Yes ma'am I will be careful if I ever decide to do that."

Mirthfully, she let me off with a little tidbit to say before she ended the call, "Take care now Joseph, do come back alive and well. You still owe me some gardening time from our last bet that we had when we fought"

Grimacing as I remembered owing her a month's worth of gardening still from losing a fight to her in under three minutes, I picked up my stuff and headed back to Dana's place. However, I found myself soon being chased by a few hunters. Putting my stuff down, I jumped to the roof between us. "Here little puppies," I mockingly called to them. And wow did they come. A pack of 6 vs. little old me was no laughing matter. But being the crazy guy that I am I smiled. I decided to test a few other weapons of mine on these hunters. "Form," I whispered, "Halberd of Geiravör." My right arm twisted and molded itself. At first it became a reversed axe blade, then a short spear popped up from the axe blade middle. In addition a hook propped itself near the back. "Form" I whispered again, this time trying the new claws I had, "Furies talons."

Grinning with pride at my combined weapons, I began to dance. Three of the hunters jumped at me, while the others waited to see what I would do on the edges. I jumped to the side, grazing one as I did. Stomping with my foot, I caused spikes to come where they jumped to, impaling one of them and injuring two. The others quickly slashed at me though, knocking me a fair distance near the edge of the roof. I used my halberd to stop my flight, burying it in the concrete. As I pulled it out, one them tried to encircle me. I slashed at its face, but it dodged. I felt one jump at me and readying my halberd, I turned to it and stabbed it wholeheartedly, and then used my claws to puncture its heart and spine. Absorbing it quickly, I used its biomass to armor myself. From there I had 4 more to take down. They were more cautious now.

"Form" I whispered, "Hair of Medusa and Whip of Bondage." My hair elongated to become tendrils of biomass, while my halberd became a spiked whip. I did a full encirclement whip of myself injuring two hunters while the others jumped. One that jumped wasn't so lucky as I jumped at it in mid-air, bunching up my claws to quickly and brutally impale its head. One that dodged though, came up to slash at me from behind. I jumped slightly, catching its clawed swipe with one foot, to smash it in the head with the other. Pulling out of the ruined hunter's head I had made with my claws, I whipped at one and though it thought it dodged it, tendrils popped out as my whip went by it, grabbing it by the leg. I whipped that hunter around to throw it at one who thought to take me real fast while I was distracted. The one I kicked got up and came at me missing a tooth, so I whipped my hair back and forth (cliché I know), to encircle it my tendrils. While it tried to claw its way out of there, the fourth hunter jumped at me, trying to bite at my chest. I used my claws to grab its head, and using the remaining tendrils I had, quickly held it down while I crushed its head with difficulty. The hunter in my hair got free, and I decided to try something out.

"KNEEL!" I proclaimed. Forcing my mind to them through the haze of their own bloodlust. I was rebuked soundly in that battle though, as I felt a familiar buzzing became a roar forcing me out, and Greene's mocking laugh in my mind. That gave one time to tackle me and to try and bite my head off. However, unfortunately for it, I had consumed hyenas who have the strongest bite in the animal kingdom, being able to bite through bone even. I reached up and ripped its throat out with the fangs I made in a split second. A chilling laugh came from me, reminiscent of a hyena, but with my own personal human touch. Consuming the hunter I just bit, I then turned to the other two as they attacked. One slicing my face wide open, the other my stomach. I glared at them as I healed, then attacked with my claws, which I formed on both hands now. Knocking the other hunter to the side quickly, I sliced the hamstring and the throat of the other hunter in rapid succession, then consumed it quickly. Now it was just a one on one match between me and the other hunter.

Maniacally, I declared, "I WILL FEAST UPON YOUR BONES."Turning both hands to clawed whips I side stepped the hunter as it dove for me. I got one whip on its leg, and another on its arm. I then began to pull it in, with tendrils emerging from whips, burrowing into it, consuming it.

I cracked my neck as I finished my meal, then gathering my stuff on the roof once more, New York roofs became my own stepping stones of travel.


	10. Chapter 9

_**Ok ok I am sorry everyone for not updating for months. Life has a way of knocking people on their butts and making them forget an awesome story at times. But I will try to be more regular with my updates from now on. Thank you all who have stayed with the story hoping for a continuation, so here we go. Oh and question for you all, do you think Jerron should have any fun time with Dana? ;) Come on now don't shy, leave your answers in reviews. I can't decide on that and its now driving me crazy. All right now back to the story.**_

Getting back to Dana's place after my little scuffle with the hunters was a quiet cool down for me. Breathing in the fresh night air I stopped at Dana's apartment with my things. Knocking on the door I called out, "Madam mind if I enter?"

The door opened to Alex who was scowling a bit as he asked, "Are you flirting with my sister?"

Laughing I proclaimed, "Now why would I do such a thing when her brother is one of the few in the world who has a chance to beat me up?" I grinned

as I slipped past him with my things.

Grabbing my shoulder Alex's voice harshened, "I mean it when I say this, I find you doing anything to her and I will tear you to shreds."

Grinning coyly I replied, "Now now Mercer let's be honest we all you know that isn't possible, besides we are a bit busy saving the world and all."

Dana heard some commotion and questioned, "Boys are you playing nice?"

Alex and I glanced at each other and said simultaneously, "Yes of course."

I put my stuff down next to the chair, and sat down on the floor, assuming a meditative pose. "Hey Alex, how did your meeting with your ex go, Alex? I heard a little chatter of you busting her out," I asked him.

"It went all right, she is going to look up a few leads for us, so in the meantime what have you two got?" he questioned.

I recounted my events of the day, excluding the recognition of Dr. Frankenstein, and told of them this mysterious toxin. "They call it bloodtox. While still developmental, it is progressing quite nicely for them. No detectable harm I could see to normal humans, but I was being attacked in microscopic amounts by that which was in the atmosphere already. An interesting toxin, to weaker infected it will seriously degrade their cell's structure, causing them to be easier to kill. As for us Alex, we to will be affected in great amounts, hampering our own healing abilities as they will have to be continuously on to combat it when they deploy it. Trying to destroy the supply though will be tough as they are also testing this outside New York, and we can't really leave the city to go destroy all the factories they are making this. So Dana, got anything we can tear our claws into next?"

Dana turned her attention to her computer saying, "Yeah I got something. This is the U.S.S. Regan that is sitting off the coast, andappears to be the center of Blackwatch to combat the infection. There are also these strange truck shipments I have been trying to track. They seem to lead to an infected zone with hives."

Musing over this information I calmly said, "The trucks must be shipments of food and gear to supply bases in the redzone. Only thing that makes sense. Strange though that they would have bases there, you would think that strategy would have bases around the red zone to contain it, not in it unless…"

Alex interrupted with, "Unless they are planning to study something in there somehow. Only one person would be able to sacrifice so many lives for such a study, McMullen."

Smiling I nodded as I added, "It would make sense, a safe field research zone could help their own research into the virus. Hey Alex you feeling up to a meet and greet." The last part I added a feral grin to.

Shrugging his shoulders Alex replied, "Lets go. Dana you stay here, see what else you can pull up about all of this. There has to be more lying out there somewhere. "

Standing up, I cracked my knuckles as I stretched up. "Aww so no breakfast before we go? Here I was hoping for Dana's great home cooked meals like ramen noodles," I mockingly complained. "Well work waits for no one man, even if he old as dirt."

Alex gave me a glare and Dana rolled her eyes, but Alex and I both left without too much hostile tension. Taking to the night skies, the city once more became our playground to head to the red zone.

As we ran across the rooftops of NYC Alex and I mostly ran in silence until we hit the red zone. Consumed a few civilians along the way, but nothing major. The red zone was when we split up though, agreeing to meet up on top of a building in 30 or so minutes to see what we could. I found the first base easy enough, glancing at a viral detector on a rooftop. A shadow I was to them, slipping past those soldiers easily since I wasn't close, but the hunters were another matter entirely. They could sense my infection, and even though I did my best to hide it, they were called hunters for a reason. The first two came at me with their odd gait and I wickedly formed my two sword blades on either arm. Time to play with the puppies again. The dance began as I ducked between one swipe of a hunter, impaling the other in the leg. Using my other sword I stabbed its other leg and swung the entire hunter at the other one. Pulling out my blades I then stabbed them into one of the hunter's heads consuming it as I did so. The other hunter swiped at my face giving me deep claw marks. Spinning with the momentum I did a high kick into the face of the hunter causing it to fly back. Jumping up I then curb stomped the hunter's head consuming it as well. I could feel more coming so I picked myself up off the rooftop, jumping into the blue.

I felt a buzz in my pocket all of a sudden. Turning aside into a small building I decided to answer my phone, wondering how it didn't get crushed with my earlier fight. A gruff voice over the line came to me saying, "Why hello there Jerron, glad to see you are still alive."

Frowning I replied, "Elder Nicholas, you know of my mission and I am currently in an infected zone, I don't have long before hunters sniff me out, what is it that you want?"

"All right straight to the point then, I am aware of your orders to kill all in your path, and I was wondering if you could make an exception for the marines that are in the city? I did help to start them after all and while I respect your power, I don't want them ending up in your belly as your latest snack, " the elder pleaded.

My voice grew hard, "If you are aware of my orders you should be more than aware that I will follow them to the letter in this case. The Eldest herself gave me those orders, and her will in this matter is absolute. I am aware of your involvement with the marines Samuel as you were called, and I am surprised that you actually didn't call sooner, but I am unchanged. The most I will promise is that I won't go dangling any off of rooftops for fun, but they get in my way they are dead, simple. There are no exceptions to this Elder, even for one of our own, Frankenstein, I will kill him as well in due time. Now let me do what I do best."

I clicked off the phone and felt more hunters heading to me. Running out of the entrance I decided to find a military unit and see what I could learn. Finding them wasn't too hard, just had to find the smells most out of place in an infected zone, mainly the unit itself. I jumped over a few cars barreling into them. Compared to the hunters they were easy as I consumed them, slicing and dicing with my own claws. All of a sudden I saw white and felt an explosion that I wasn't completely prepared for. I felt myself crash into an abandoned car. Standing up and regenerating those superficial wounds I saw two tanks that had just come around the corner. I smiled at the tanks and then planted my foot in the ground and bought out from my arms two great shields. "Shields of Ancile," I whispered, grimacing as I felt the impact from the second tank. However, the tanks weren't much of a concern yet as I concentrated on the tendril I had placed underground from my foot.

The ground beneath the tanks split open as I formed the pit of wendigos, dragging the tanks down. Mouths of fanged beasts formed out of my biomass, dragging the tanks down in a hellish tar pit of my own design. Normally optimized for organic consumption, it still made it impossible for them to do anything after that as who was going to be able to lift them? I retracted all biomass except my armor and ran to the tanks, prying them open like sardine cans to find any useful information. Information gleaned through my mind as I consumed the commander in one of the tanks. Stretching, I shimmied out of the last tank to take once more to the rooftops and back to the arranged meeting place.

Alex and I met up punctually, and we discussed quickly what we had learned.

I asked him if he gained the same information I did, "All right Alex my boy, I hope you found out where the viral detectors are? We sabotage those to say everything is squeaky clean down here and he should come."

He nodded replying, "Glad we are on the same page. There are 4 viral detectors he is looking at for his window of opportunity."

"Indeed. Now how about this, I will go take care of the two on the far side of the perimeter. Meanwhile Alex, you can go to the detectors near the hive. Disable them quickly enough and we should have McMullen. I will leave you to consume him as you worked with him. It always helps in consumption to organize the information better if you already knew them before," I reasoned.

Unusually thoughtful, Alex agreed saying, "Well I never thought of it that way. Haven't really consumed people I have gotten to know. But might as well try it. The last one I will take care of is the one at the hive where he will probably be."

Jovially laughing away I called out as we went our separate ways, "Off we go then, try not to get blown up into little pieces, those tanks hurt."

I stealthily prowled the rooftops until I found a patrol being attacked by a hunter. Quickly I found the one with the missile launcher and quickly consumed him to take his form. From there it was an easy matter to blow that thing to hell as they had done a pretty good job in weakening it. It had still taken ¾ of the squad though who died in an effort to kill it. We returned back to base and I saw it. The virus detector began searching the base for a highly concentrated form of the virus, mainly me. I quickly sauntered up to it, using the access codes I had gleaned from it to get into the system easily enough. It was more durable against infected assault, not an intelligent being calmly accessing it. I sabotaged the readings easily enough, smiling with pleasure as I heard radio chatter about how one and then another was clean as Alex took his first.

The next one was no trouble as I pretended to be a replacement on the rooftop next to a generator guard. A simple stealth consumption of him and the access code was a piece of cake. A few minutes later I had similar chatter as Alex shut down his, and then the helicopter train with McMullen rolled over to his position. I saw the helicopter lower down, but all of a sudden it rose back up again. The chatter indicated that infected pods had burst with an infected pack. With that plan a fail I decided to make my escape a bit flashy. I jumped down from the rooftop, transforming and smashing the ground as I did so. A few men flew back like rag dolls as I barreled through them, killing as many as I could. Getting the past the military barricades was easy, and seeing strike helicopters bearing down on me I barreled on as quickly as possible. Exiting the infected zone, I hid in an alleyway and transformed to my normal self and lost myself in the crowd.

*Gentek Lab*

Dr. Crowls was laughing with glee as he put a few modifications to blood tox. Soon with all the tweaks he had made he would hopefully have the ultimate specimen, Jerron himself, to perform hundreds of planned experiments on. Sighing with pleasure, all of a sudden he felt his pocket buzz. Taking a look his eyes widened as he recognized the number from his benefactor. Calling it a night Dr. Crowls quickly wrapped up his work and called it a night. Getting to what was home as quickly as possible he did a standard check for electrical devices, shorting out one bug he found on the corner of a painting, and then called him back.

"That took longer than expected Frankenstein," an electronically modulated voice accused.

"Yes yes I know, but I was just tweaking blood tox a little, giving it more oomph for our mutual friend shall we say. I am going to need every advantage to take him down. How is information gathering going on your end about him," Frankenstein implored.

Angrily the voice raised as it said, "It would be going easier if YOU HADN'T BEEN DISCOVERED. YOU IMBECILE, YOU SHOULD'VE CAPTURED HIM SOON AS HE SAW YOU WHETHER YOU WERE PREPARED OR NOT. *deep breath* Now the Eldest herself is committing a witch hunt digging far too deeply for my liking about this whole affair and is now training her eye on it herself. She knows you are there but is obeying her own edict to stay out of New York City, relying on her dog Jerron to kill you when he has a moment."

Crazily laughing Frankenstein declared, "Oh goody goody, I will have to prepare for the guest then. Judging from your obvious statements on Jerron this isn't so much as hate for him as it is to limit the power of the Eldest isn't it? I may be crazy but I am far from too insane to see that which is there before me."

A pause on the line as the voice carefully considered, its next words being, "Be careful of how much you see Frankenstein, but yes as her shadow he is far too powerful. His potential is near limitless, and plans I had spinning for some time have been broken by him. They complement each other too well. That is why when your experiments are done you will kill him? No exceptions to this Frankenstein."

Frankenstein's eyes lit up as he replied, "Of course of course, but I will first get a novel's worth of data from the corpse of Jerron."

"Very well then, watch your step Frankenstein. The best hunter of The Chroniclers hunts you now, *click*" the voice said and then disconnected.

Laughing wildly, Frankenstein sang softly as he prepared to sleep,

"Oh I dance away the days

Burning the midnight oil to stay awake.

All to catch a walking plague

That pisses those off in high off places.

The fun that we shall have.

As I cut him up in half.

Will be unparalleled.

As soon the Eldest will ring the mourning bells.

But not before I get my treat

Of a very satisfying hundreds long list of experiments."

*insane giggle*


End file.
